Park Jung-hyun (박정현), a lawmaker from the Democratic Party, urged police to conduct a strict investigation into allegations that LG Uplus covered up a hacking incident.

Park's office said on Sept. 21 that the police investigation into LG Uplus' disposal of a server and reinstallation of an operating system has been under way for 10 months since the Ministry of Science and ICT requested a probe.

The case became known after an anonymous white-hat hacker tipped off the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) about files believed to have been leaked from LG Uplus. Related files were later posted in the U.S. security magazine Phrack.

The account privilege management system, known as APPM, was identified as the target of the breach. It is a system that manages passwords for internal LG Uplus server accounts. Park's office said LG Uplus disposed of one related server on July 31 last year, after it was notified by KISA of the report of the breach.

When the ministry demanded submission of inspection results on Aug. 11 that year, LG Uplus replied that there were no signs of intrusion. It reinstalled the operating system on the related server the next day. It was also found to have reinstalled operating systems on connected servers. The ministry judged that those steps made a technical investigation into the intrusion incident difficult and on Dec. 9 last year asked police to investigate LG Uplus on suspicion of obstructing the execution of official duties by deception.

The Personal Information Protection Commission also judged in July that LG Uplus made it difficult to confirm facts related to a personal data leak by disposing of related servers or reinstalling operating systems before an investigation began. It decided to ask police to investigate on the same charge.

Park stressed that as the police investigation drags on, it could become difficult to determine what happened. She said a poor investigation could leave the case as a permanent cold case.

"If companies that destroyed evidence get away while only companies that report in good faith are sanctioned, who would report a hacking incident?" Park said. "To ensure the LG Uplus hacking cover-up case does not remain a permanent cold case, police must investigate strictly without any lingering doubts."